# Ellen Burstyn on screen and stage

Ellen Burstyn is an American actress of film, television and stage.
She is known for her film performances in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). She also has appeared in such films as Harry and Tonto (1974), Same Time, Next Year (1978), and Resurrection (1980).
She is also known for her performances in television such as Big Love (2007–2011), Political Animals (2012), Louie (2014), and House of Cards (2016).

## Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | Goodbye Charlie | Frannie Salzman | Credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1964 | For Those Who Think Young | Dr. Pauline Thayer | Credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1969 | Pit Stop (original title: The Winner) | Ellen McLeod | Credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1970 | Alex in Wonderland | Beth Morrison | |
| 1970 | Tropic of Cancer | Mona Miller | |
| 1971 | The Last Picture Show | Lois Farrow | |
| 1972 | The King of Marvin Gardens | Sally | |
| 1973 | The Exorcist | Chris MacNeil | |
| 1974 | Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Alice Hyatt | |
| 1974 | Harry and Tonto | Shirley Mallard | |
| 1977 | Providence | Sonia Langham | |
| 1978 | A Dream of Passion | Brenda | |
| 1978 | Same Time, Next Year | Doris | |
| 1980 | Resurrection | Edna Mae McCauley | |
| 1981 | Silence of the North | Olive Frederickson | |
| 1984 | The Ambassador | Alex Hacker | |
| 1984 | Terror in the Aisles | | Archival footage |
| 1985 | Twice in a Lifetime | Kate MacKenzie | |
| 1987 | Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | Mrs. Stocks (voice) | |
| 1988 | Hanna's War | Katalin | |
| 1991 | Grand Isle | Mademoiselle Reisz | |
| 1991 | Dying Young | Mrs. O'Neil | |
| 1993 | The Cemetery Club | Esther Moskowitz | |
| 1994 | When a Man Loves a Woman | Emily | |
| 1994 | The Color of Evening | Kate O'Reilly | |
| 1995 | How to Make an American Quilt | Hy Dodd | |
| 1995 | The Baby-Sitters Club | Emily Haberman | |
| 1995 | Roommates | Judith | |
| 1996 | The Spitfire Grill | Hannah Ferguson | |
| 1997 | Deceiver | Mook | |
| 1998 | Playing by Heart | Mildred | |
| 1998 | You Can Thank Me Later | Shirley Cooperberg | |
| 1999 | Walking Across Egypt | Mattie Rigsbee | |
| 2000 | Requiem for a Dream | Sara Goldfarb | |
| 2000 | The Yards | Val Handler | |
| 2001 | Dodson's Journey | Mother | |
| 2002 | Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | Viviane Joan "Vivi" Abbott Walker | |
| 2002 | Red Dragon | Grandma Dolarhyde (voice only) | Uncredited |
| 2005 | Down in the Valley | Ma | |
| 2006 | The Fountain | Dr. Lilian Guzetti | |
| 2006 | The Wicker Man | Sister Summersisle | |
| 2006 | The Elephant King | Diana Hunt | |
| 2006 | 30 Days | Maura | |
| 2007 | The Stone Angel | Hagar Shipley | |
| 2008 | Lovely, Still | Mary | |
| 2008 | W. | Barbara Bush | |
| 2009 | The Velveteen Rabbit | Swan | Voice role |
| 2009 | According to Greta | Katherine | |
| 2009 | PoliWood | Herself | Documentary |
| 2009 | The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond | Miss Adie | |
| 2010 | The Mighty Macs | Mother St. John | |
| 2010 | Main Street | Georgiana Carr | |
| 2011 | Another Happy Day | Doris | |
| 2011 | Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You | Nanette | |
| 2013 | Wish You Well | Louisa Mae Cardinal | |
| 2014 | Two Men in Town | Garnett's mother | |
| 2014 | River of Fundament | Hafertiti #1 | |
| 2014 | Draft Day | Barb Weaver | |
| 2014 | Interstellar | Old Murph | |
| 2014 | The Calling | Emily Micallef | |
| 2014 | When Marnie Was There | Nanny | Voice |
| 2015 | The Age of Adaline | Flemming | |
| 2015 | Unity | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2015 | About Scout | Gram | |
| 2016 | Wiener-Dog | Nana | |
| 2016 | Custody | Beatrice Fisher | |
| 2017 | The House of Tomorrow | Josephine Prendergast | Also executive producer |
| 2017 | All I Wish | Celia Berges | |
| 2018 | Nostalgia | Helen Greer | |
| 2018 | The Tale | Nettie | |
| 2019 | American Woman | Miss Dolly | |
| 2019 | Lucy in the Sky | Nana Holbrook | |
| 2020 | Pieces of a Woman | Elizabeth Weiss | |
| 2021 | Queen Bees | Helen Wilson | |
| 2022 | Three Months | Valerie | |
| 2023 | Mother, Couch | Mother | |
| 2023 | The Exorcist: Believer | Chris MacNeil | |
Source: Turner Classic Movies

## Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | Kraft Television Theatre | Linda | Episode: "Trick or Treat"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961 | Michael Shayne | Carol | Episode: "Strike Out"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961 | The Loretta Young Show | Ann Walters | Episode: "Woodlot"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961 | Dr. Kildare | Anne Garner | Episode: "Second Chance"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961 | Surfside 6 | Wandra Drake | Episode: "Double Image"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961, 1963 | 77 Sunset Strip | Betty Benson (1961) / Sandra Keene (1963) | 2 episodes; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961 | Cheyenne | Emmy Mae | Episode: "Day's Pay"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1961 | The Dick Powell Show | Rose Maxon | Episode: "Ricochet"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962, 1971 | Gunsmoke | Polly Mims (1962) / Amy Waters (1971) | 3 episodes; credited as Ellen McRae (1962), credited as Ellen Burstyn (1971) |
| 1962 | Ben Casey | Dr. Leslie Fraser (ep. 1) / Connie (ep. 2) | 2 episodes; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962 | Bus Stop | Phyllis Dunning | Episode: "Cry to Heaven"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962 | Checkmate | Margo | Episode: "The Bold and the Tough"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962 | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Dr. Donna Whittaker | Episode: "A Splinter Off the Old Block"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962 | Perry Mason | Mona Winthrope White | Episode: "The Case of the Dodging Domino"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962 | The Real McCoys | Dorothy Carter | Episode: "The Girl Veterinarian"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1962 | I'm Dickens, He's Fenster | Joan | Episode: "Harry, the Father Image"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1963 | Laramie | Amy | Episode: "No Place to Run"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1963 | The Defenders | Hilda Wesley | Episode: "The Heathen"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1963 | Going My Way | Louise | Episode: "Hear No Evil"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1963 | Wagon Train | Margaret Whitlow | Episode: "The Jim Whitlow Story"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1963 | Vacation Playhouse | Ellen | Episode: "The Big Brain"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1964 | Suspense Theater | Barbara / Lucille | Episode: "The Deep End"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1964 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Eva Laurelton | Episode: "Runaway"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1964 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Susan Mason | Episode: "Big Man from Nairobi"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1964 | Death Valley Days | Jenny | Episode: "Hastings Cut-off"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1964–65 | The Doctors | Dr. Kate Bartok | Multiple episodes; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1965 | For the People | Maria Haviland | Episode: "Seized, Confined and Detained"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel | Dr. Eve Holland | Episode: "Crack of Doom"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1967–68 | Iron Horse | Julie Parsons | 9 episodes; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1967 | The Big Valley | Sister Jacob | Episode: "Days of Grace"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1968 | Insight | Janet | Episode: "All the Things I've Never Liked"; credited as Ellen McRae |
| 1969 | The Virginian | Kate Bürden | Episode: "Last Grave at Socorro Creek" |
| 1972 | The Bold Ones: The Lawyers | Rachel Lambert | Episode: "Lisa, I Hardly Knew You" |
| 1974 | Thursday's Game | Lynne Evers | Television movie |
| 1981 | The People vs. Jean Harris | Jean Harris | Television movie |
| 1985 | Into Thin Air | Joan Walker | Television movie |
| 1985 | Surviving: A Family in Crisis | Tina Brogan | Television movie |
| 1986 | Act of Vengeance | Margaret Yablonski | Television movie |
| 1986 | Something in Common | Lynn Hollander | Television movie |
| 1986–87 | The Ellen Burstyn Show | Ellen Brewer | 13 episodes |
| 1987 | Look Away | Mary Todd Lincoln | Television movie |
| 1987 | Pack of Lies | Barbara Jackson | Television movie |
| 1990 | When You Remember Me | Nurse Cooder | Television movie |
| 1991 | Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love | Lillian "Lil" Lambert | Television movie |
| 1992 | Taking Back My Life | Wilma | Television movie |
| 1993 | Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story | Joan Delvecchio | Television movie |
| 1994 | Trick of the Eye | Frances Griffin | Television movie |
| 1994 | Getting Gotti | Jo Giaclone | Television movie |
| 1994 | Getting Out | Arlie's Mother | Television movie |
| 1995 | Follow the River | Gretel | Television movie |
| 1995 | My Brother's Keeper | Helen | Television movie |
| 1996 | Timepiece | Maud Gannon | Television movie |
| 1996 | Our Son, the Matchmaker | Iva Mae Longwell | Television movie |
| 1997 | Flash | Laura Strong | Television movie |
| 1997 | A Deadly Vision | Yvette Watson | Television movie |
| 1998 | A Will of Their Own | Veronica Steward | Mini-series |
| 1998 | The Patron Saint of Liars | June Clatterbuck | Television movie |
| 1999 | Night Ride Home | Maggie | Television movie |
| 2000 | Mermaid | Trish Gill | Television movie |
| 2000–02 | That's Life | Dolly DeLucca | 34 episodes |
| 2001 | Within These Walls | Joan Thomas | Television movie |
| 2003 | Brush with Fate | Rika | Television movie |
| 2004 | The Five People You Meet in Heaven | Ruby | Television movie |
| 2004 | The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel | Tommie | Television movie |
| 2005 | Our Fathers | Mary Ryan | Television movie |
| 2005 | Mrs. Harris | Ex-lover No. 3 / Former Tarnower "Steady" | Television movie |
| 2006 | The Book of Daniel | Bishop Beatrice Congreve | 8 episodes |
| 2007 | For One More Day | Pauline Benetto | Television movie |
| 2007–11 | Big Love | Nancy Davis Dutton | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Bernie Stabler | Episode: "Swing" |
| 2012 | Political Animals | Margaret Barrish | 6 episodes |
| 2012 | Coma | Mrs. Emerson | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Flowers in the Attic | Olivia Foxworth | Television movie |
| 2014 | Petals on the Wind | Olivia Foxworth | Television movie |
| 2014 | Louie | Evanka | 5 episodes: "Elevator" Parts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 |
| 2015 | Mom | Shirley Stabler | Episode: "Terrorists and Gingerbread" |
| 2016 | House of Cards | Elizabeth Hale | 5 episodes |
| 2021–present | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Bernie Stabler | Recurring role |
| 2022 | The First Lady | Sara Roosevelt | 6 episodes |

## Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1958 | Fair Game | Susan Hammarlee | Longacre Theatre, Broadway |
| 1975 | Same Time, Next Year | Doris | Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway |
| 1983 | 84 Charing Cross Road | Helen Haniff | Nederlander Theatre, Broadway |
| 1989 | Shirley Valentine | Shirley Valentine | Booth Theatre, Broadway |
| 1992 | Shimada | Sharyn Beaumont | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |
| 1995 | Sacrilege | Sister Grace | Belasco Theatre, Broadway |
| 2003 | Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All | Lucy Marsden | Longacre Theatre, Broadway |
| 2013 | Picnic | Mrs. Helen Potts | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway |
| 2019 | 33 Variations | Dr. Katherine Brandt | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne |